Standing starts – Why do we keep destroying our Industry?

Why do we keep destroying our harness racing Industry in New Zealand by allowing ridiculous standing starts, especially in maiden trot fields?

What century are we in? Who is our handicapper? This is the 21st Century and we are supposed to put on an exciting, modern and fair race for all to enjoy.

The handicapper has a lot to answer for – lacking sensibility and no vision for sure and a destroyer of owners and gamblers hopes and killing any hope of reinvestment by both owners and gamblers. Owners and Gamblers pay the bills to keep this Industry alive. Trainers and Drivers are paid employees.

Trainers and Drivers, please do not get upset, you are a valuable part of our Industry and we know many of you are owners as well. So why can you not see how stupid in 2022 that we still have to put up with ridiculous standing starts? Get over it and make some changes that can improve our product or you will not have Owners and Gamblers to work for in the near future. This is 2022 and we desperately need new Owners and new Gamblers to keep the Industry going.

Harness Racing New Zealand should be ashamed of themselves, continually putting on a terrible spectacle for all viewers to watch.

They keep killing any hope of new owners or investors ever getting into our business, sport or whatever you like to call it!

To the point –

Last Thursday night at Cambridge Raceway the first race was a spectacle or debacle that had to be seen to be believed. .

Now before we go any further I must point out that this criticism is no reflection of the good Secretary of The Cambridge Trotting Club, who has done nothing but grow this Harness Racing Club immensely against all odds, (as it was a shambles when he took it over).

No, this is an ongoing theme of the handicappers and others in this Industry over the last 15 to 20 years who seem to be controlled by no common sense or influenced by trainers and drivers that have no common sense other than their own beliefs and tradition.

Combined they have no foresight of how to put on a show that the Industry and the public can be proud of.

Back to this race last Thursday.

Race one – A standing start Trot for non-winners over 2200 metres, 11 starters from a stand – ridiculous!

Twelve minutes late starting because of problems with one horse to start with called Library Lady, a seven-year-old mare that had had 20 starts at the trials since 2017 for one win (field of three) and one placing. This horse refused to do anything to take part at the start, could not even get off the track without massive help. While this was going on another horse Bellatrix gets excited and breaks and falls on the track to be later scratched.

Okay we are now down to nine starters – five made breaks leaving four to trot all the way!

What the hell is wrong with our so-called stewards at the trials that are there to make sure any starters at the races have at least some manners.

This is so amateurish in this day and age and to be showing this so-called race on live television to the gambling public is a joke.

Here is the result of the Stewards report;

Wait, wait, wait, it is not just this race at Cambridge that concerns me, it was just the tip of the ICEBERG that many passionate lovers of our Industry have been watching and complaining about these standing start races for years.

Here we go, there are many other examples, mostly down the South Island and especially at Addington, the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club.

If we start in October 2021 and take a look at some maiden standing start trotting fields, it is a joke to watch many starters making breaks in a race.

Look at this race here a standing start non-winners trot over a ridiculous long distance of 2600 metres on the 15th of October 2021. 16 starters, 12 trotted roughly or broke, a great spectacle to watch on Trackside!

The following week was even worse with another standing start maiden trot for non-winners over 2600 metres with 16 starters, yes, 13 made breaks for another great spectacle. The only three that did not break were first, second and third. Here is that race;

Watch the above race here;

Okay, what about the better class races from a stand? Here is one to look at, a pacing race on the 15th of February 2022, the Cheviot Cup over 2600 metres from a stand. All starters except the winner had a stewards report that showed breaking or interference.

How many more races do you want me to look at? There are many many more!

Standing starts should be a thing of the past if we want our Industry to survive.

The Handicapper should be ashamed of putting on such an appalling product in this day and age. Again, no vision and a destroyer of owners and gamblers hopes and killing any reinvestment by both owners and gamblers.

I blame Administrators of our Industry, especially the Board of Harness Racing New Zealand, Stewards, handicappers and some trainers and drivers for putting on such an appalling show!

I have told many Industry people in New Zealand this appraisal of Harness Racing in New Zealand by Sky Racing Television executives in Australia a few years ago. I was trying to get more coverage for Harness Racing on Television at the time;

Sir, from our point of view, harness racing people are their own worst enemy, especially in New Zealand.

I said why?

There are three things that make it so –

1) Standing starts.

2) The length of your races over extreme distances. (It takes too long to cover on live TV)

3) The people that you have to deal with in New Zealand!

At that time I felt terrible, I felt bad for our Administrators and our Industry in New Zealand.

I rest my case on Standing starts!

Watch this space for other strong opinions on our Industry that I will deliver over the next few weeks!

Time to speak up and try to improve this Industry for all of us!

by John Curtin, for Harnesslink Media